Seeking a Film for the Middle of the Year

Summer traditionally means blockbuster film season. While neither of the wide-release films I reviewed recently quite qualify for blockbuster status, these movies (the end-of-the-world rom-com Seeking a Friend for the End of the World and the self-discovery weepie People Like Us) should have you searching for better cinematic fare.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (Slant)
People Like Us (Slant)
Ordinary Miracles (Village Voice)

A Fresh Set of Reviews

From the self-absorption of a romantically-obsessed 29-year old woman to the post-fame life of '70s singer Paul Williams to the world-historical events of the Arab Spring, the films in my latest set of reviews cover a wide range of territory. They also - per the norm - vary rather considerably in quality, from the pretty good to the not so very hot at all.

Tahrir: Liberation Square (The L Magazine)
Lola Versus (Slant)
Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding (Slant)
Paul Williams Still Alive (Slant)
The Kite (Slant)

Massive Catch-up Time

Well, it's been a couple of weeks since my last post, which means there are a ton of reviews to link here. Happily, I'm able to report that at least two of them are quite excellent, Wes Anderson's latest, Moonrise Kingdom, and the new near-masterpiece from Japanese master Sion Sono, Himizu. Unfortunately the latter is only opening in the U.K. at this time, but hopefully it will get a stateside release sooner rather than later. Also, of interest is my take on the Andy Garcia vehicle, For Greater Glory, with my objections to the film's implicit embrace of Catholicism seeming to have provoked a tad bit of controversy. Enjoy!

Himizu (Little White Lies)
Moonrise Kingdom (Slant)
Mighty Fine (Slant)
For Greater Glory (Slant)
6 Month Rule (Slant)
Wish Me Away (Village Voice)
High School (Village Voice)
One Day on Earth (Village Voice)
Pink Ribbons, Inc. (Time Out New York)
U.N. Me (Time Out New York)
Crooked Arrows (Time Out New York)

What to Expect When You're in Dell City, Texas

My two reviews this week cover a pair of very different films: a terrible, regressive mainstream blockbuster and an intriguing under-the-radar documentary. Such is the world of New York first-run movie programming that there's room for all types of offerings.

What to Expect When You're Expecting (Slant)
Tales from Dell City, Texas (Village Voice)

Four New Films of Varying Quality

It brings me no pleasure to report that the last four films I reviewed ranged in quality from poor to terrible. The worst of the lot, though, was undoubtedly the latest Kate Hudson vehicle, the regressive Nicholas Sparks-style weepie, A Little Bit of Heaven.

A Bag of Hammers (Slant)
Small, Beautifully Moving Parts (Slant)
A Little Bit of Heaven (Slant)
Last Call at the Oasis (Slant)

The Six-Film Engagement

This week I reviewed a sextet of films of which the standouts are the documentary Booker's Place and, by far the most high-profile of the lot and the film which gives this post its (somewhat strained) title, The Five-Year Engagement. It seems that I'm in the minority in digging this one, with most of the critical hatred seeming to center on the film's formulaic nature. The thing about genre, though, is that it is formulaic. It's a question of tweaking the formula and using the genre's dictates intelligently, tasks ably handled by Nicholas Stoller's fine rom-com.


The Five-Year Engagement (Slant)
Dolphin Boy (Village Voice)
Inventing Our Life: The Kibbutz Experiment (Village Voice)
Payback (Time Out New York)
Booker's Place (Time Out New York)
96 Minutes (Time Out New York)

The Long Delayed Return of the Linkthrough

After several weeks of not posting, there are plenty of reviews to be rounded up including my second ever stab at music criticism. As far as the films go,most occupy a middle ground between excellence and decrepitude, though nearly all are of some interest.

Film
Chimpanzee (Slant)
The Moth Diaries (Slant)
Trishna (Slant)
Here (Slant)
Downtown Express (Time Out New York)
Unraveled (Time Out New York)

Music
Vijay Iyer Trio: Accelerando (In Review Online)